Chronicles
by Drakenn
Summary: 'When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew.' - Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage. With those words in mind a new generation of Konoha shinobi begins their education and life as shinobi in a more reasonable, more realistic and darker world.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Been looking through my older stories and favorite list and Naruto once again caught my attention. It is obviously AU and there are changes both small and large, some of which are visible straight away in this chapter and some show up later. Naruto as a universe has a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies, in this story I'll try to patch some, if not most of them. I won't reveal what exactly changes as that would spoil most of the first arc and I dislike spoiling more than needed.**

 **Last, but not least, written with help of darksider82 and he wrote some parts of the story. With those things aside, read, enjoy and review.**

 **o-0-o**

Naruto yawned loudly as he opened his eyes and stretched in his bed, today was a day when he would begin his education at the Academy, making his first steps on a way to become a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. He glanced to the side and noticed that his adopted brother, Shikamaru was also waking up, though a lot more slowly and still seemed half asleep. "Wake up, Shika," Naruto yelled.

The Nara groaned and looked at Naruto with some anger. "It is early, let me sleep," he said and winced when an alarm clock hit him in the head. "No need to be violent," he muttered, still barely awake.

Naruto just looked at Shikamaru and shrugged, even after twelve years of living with the Naras he was unable of grasping how it was possible that they were so lazy. Leaving his brother to get out of his bed. He instead gathered his clothes and groggily made his way to the bathroom to get showered and ready for the day.

When he walked out of the bathroom dressed and ready for whatever would be thrown at him, he looked like a ninja in training or soon to be. He was a tall person for a twelve years old, standing at hundred and sixty centimeters, he had bright blond, almost golden in color hair reaching to his shoulders with a pair of bangs framing his face, cerulean blue eyes and a bit of baby fat still visible, yet there were also visible signs of muscles developing from the physical training he did. He was dressed in traditional, black ninja sandals, black sweatpants wrapped around his ankles with bandages to keep them tight and comfortable, a black tank top and a dark blue hoodie with burnt orange stripes on the shoulder area. On his shoulders was the sign of the Nara clan and on his back one of the Uzumaki clan. First one was to show the clan that adopted him and second, his true clan.

He reached for his ninjato, a gift from Shikaku for the twelfth birthday and briefly looked at the weapon before strapping it to his back. It was a pratical weapon, the blade almost fifty centimeters long and he could tell that it was hellishly sharp as he managed to cut with it through way too many training posts, the handle was a simple, dark one wrapped in a silk cord. As his hand brushed against the familiar surface he could feel a bit of satisfaction and pride, it was a sign he was treated no longer like a child and instead as someone who could he trusted with real weapons. He then wrapped his hands in bandages and managed to strap kunai holsters to his hips even before Shikamaru managed to crawl out of his bed.

"We will be late," Naruto said with a sigh of exasperation as he looked at Shikamaru. "And we will be disqualified because you are lazy." He then smirked and added with a bit of mischief visible in his voice. "Or I can mention mom that you are being slow."

Shikamaru's face turned pale and then he looked in some fear at Naruto. "You... You wouldn't do it, right?"

"If you're fast enough, nope," Naruto said as he corrected the harness of his sword, the burnt orange leather standing out a bit on his dark hoodie. He then reached for two pouches he had and attached them to his belt before glancing at Shikamaru who just finished dressing and looked as if he was willing to murder someone. "Don't glare at me," Naruto said with an innocent smile. "I only helped you get ready."

Shikamaru just grumbled something and without a word walked out of their room, Naruto following him a couple of steps behind and smiling at the grumpy look on Shikamaru's face. The breakfast was a strangely silent affair as everybody seemed to glare at everybody and was in a sour mood, a rare thing that so far never happened. A quick glance sent by Naruto towards Shikamaru got him exactly nothing as his brother just shook his head and returned to eating. Finally after a long moment of a very uncomfortable silence and tensions one could have cut with a knife Shikaku decided to finally say something. "Today is a day when the two of you starts the Academy," he said and then added with a yawn. "And no matter how troublesome it is, I'll take you both there."

Naruto hid a chuckle as he saw mom's gaze focus on Shikaku and look as if she was about to reach for something heavy and bash it against his head. "It isn't troublesome and you'll do it," she said.

Naruto just smiled at it and once the breakfast was finished he and Shikamaru followed Shikaku to the Academy, which was hidden in a sparsely populated part of Konohagakure. Out of the way and out of sight of most of the population, giving a lot of room for training and more importantly peace from disturbances and annoying people and parents that sometimes wanted to correct the instructors.

"Even if it is troublesome and bothersome," Shikaku said as they walked through the woods. "Be nice and actually try to perform well and don't slack off."

"Slacking off?" Naruto asked and then paused. "I know no such thing," he said and let his eyes slip to Shikamaru. "He? Perhaps. But speaking about it, mentioning it to mom tends to heal him."

Shikaku let out a sigh and Naruto chuckled under his breath. "Don't kill your brother, or me," Shikaku said and sent a quick glance around. "And it seems we have some company."

Naruto closed his eyes for a second and focused on his surroundings. "To the right and above, feels like Itachi and Sasuke."

"Indeed, Naruto-kun," Itachi said as he landed on the ground, to his side a visibly panting Sasuke. "You seem to develop some sensory abilities."

"What are they?" Naruto asked looking at the heir of Hokage-sama and the heir of Uchiha clan.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru and Shikaku muttered, making everybody chuckle merrily.

"You will learn the formal and boring definition when in the Academy, Naruto-kun," Itachi said and then smiled thinly. "But for your information, it is when a shinobi can detect chakra of people around them. A rare talent that not many have, yet a very useful one to have."

Naruto nodded with a bright smile and then looked at Sasuke, he and the younger brother of Itachi had an interesting friendship, if it could be called as such. While they didn't hate each other and could be seen training or hanging out together, they were also extremely competitive and didn't really want to work together. "So you also start the Academy today?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded and the three of them plus Itachi and Shikaku walked towards the complex of the Academy where a lot of older siblings and parents was visible with kids that were starting their first day of classes today and Naruto could see some of his friends from other shinobi clans. He looked over the crowd and smiled when he saw Chouji, Ino and Kiba walk towards them. They exchanged their greetings and after a quick goodbye to Shikaku and Itachi all went inside the building.

"Any idea what kind of a test it will be?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"For sure it will be troublesome and hard," Shikamaru said, getting eyebrows of Naruto and Ino to twitch in a mix of anger and annoyance.

"Itachi-nii said it is supposed to test us and see how good or bad we are," Sasuke said quietly and all of them looked in his direction. "He didn't say what exactly it is, but he said it will test us."

Naruto grumbled, but before he could say more all of them entered a large hall that was slowly becoming filled with all of the hopefuls that wanted to enlist into shinobi forces and the first step was being a cadet at the Academy. A quick look Naruto sent across the room let him easily spot few jonins familiar to him and then his eyebrows arched when he saw Sarutobi Asuma and dad standing in the corner and talking with each other. He nudged Shikamaru and indicated the two.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered and then looked at Naruto. "Dad is one of the most senior jounin and Asuma is a son of Hokage-sama. Did you expect them not to be here?"

"No," Naruto said and then nodded. "You are right, it is obvious that they need to be here."

Shikamaru nodded and returned to his nap, even if standing, he was somehow able to take a nap a trait that all Nara somehow had. Naruto's eyebrow twitched angrily, but then his gaze was drawn to the front of the room where some commotion was happening as Shikaku flanked by a chunin of some kind and Sarutobi Asuma walked onto a stage.

Naruto focused his eyes on the three shinobi and then narrowed them slightly as he tried to see more than they were hiding more than they were letting out. He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew there was something.

"Welcome to the Ninja Academy," the chunin said and all looked at him. "While all of you are eager to be shinobi of Konohagakure we only accept the best candidates and that's why now all of you will pass a set of challenges designed to test you and your capabilities."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered and moved aside when Naruto's fist shot towards his head. "Fine, fine, I'll pay attention. Just don't hurt me."

Naruto smiled and focused back on the chunin. "All of the children from the clans are to follow Sarutobi Asuma and he will take you to an arena where the tests wait for you. The rest, please stay here."

Naruto followed the stream of the clan children and all of them were led by Asuma through a maze of corridors and some passages that looked like tunnels before emerging on a large sandy circular arena surrounded by trees with several paths leading out of it and some stands for the audience. A quick look cast backwards confirmed that they were behind the Academy and in the forests around it.

"This here is a start of your obstacle course," Asuma said as he approached a pair of trees that formed one of the gates. "It leads through the woods and will lead you to a similar formation on the other side of the arena. You are to follow a path marked with red rings on trees and there are cameras and shinobi scattered along the course to watch you."

Naruto smiled and after a nod from Asuma he charged towards the trees. He raced through the gate and immediately jumped onto the nearest branch before sending a quick look around. He noticed a couple of trees with the markings, at the same time he noticed several concealed kunai launchers.

"Interesting," he muttered as he draw his sword and jumped onto the next tree before pulling out a kunai and blocking a pair of similar knives that threatened him with getting skewered. He then hugged a branch and barely avoided another barrage that passed above him, it was so close that he felt the air move as the knives flew past him.

He got up and resumed his race when he noticed Sasuke jump past him. "That's not nice," Naruto shouted, yet Sasuke didn't even notice him. "Getting faster than your friend, it is all about the Will of Fire!"

Sasuke spared him a look and then stopped just for a bit to let Naruto catch up to him. "Teamwork, eh?"

"Yeah," Naruto said and used his blade to deflect a kunai that flew at him and missed the next one, one that would have bury in his chest if not for Sasuke who pulled him to a side. "Thank you."

"You're slow," Sasuke said as he hurled his kunai to disable a trap that was about to fire. "And sloppy."

Naruto grunted and shot an angry glare at Sasuke before throwing shuriken at a tripwire to activate it ahead of them. "And you seem careless."

"I left it for you," Sasuke said as the two of them touched down on the ground.

Naruto nodded and then looked around the clearing on which they landed, it felt like no time passed and yet they were already at the end of the course. "That was easy," he muttered and sent a quick look around. "I expected something harder."

Sasuke looked at him and shrugged before the two of them walked through the gate and entered onto the arena where they could see a couple of people rest and try to catch their breath after finishing the course.

"Fifth time the two of you have," Asuma said from the middle of the arena as he glanced at a timer he held and then wrote something in a notepad he was holding. "We still wait for few people, so you can rest before the next part."

Naruto did just it and plopped down on the sand in the shadows of one of the massive trees that were so common in the Land of Fire and even more close to Konoha. He rested his head against the trunk and almost immediately slipped into a nap, his body and mind resting, yet at the same time being rather aware of his surroundings.

Even if Shikaku was lazy for most of the time when he bothered to train them, he was a demanding teacher and taught them a lot of things they needed to survive and one of them was being constantly and acutely aware of their surroundings and any dangers coming towards them.

Naruto's ears picked up a sound of a kunai hurling itself through the air and his hand shot out to grasp it as his eyes opened. "That wasn't needed, Ino," he said with a yawn as he hurled the knife back to the heiress of the Yamanaka clan. "I'm not sleeping," he said, rubbing his eyes and getting up. "Shika is," he added with a smirk and lightly kicked his brother who was snoring soundly.

Shikamaru yelped and opened his eyes before looking at Naruto. "You'll pay for this, one day."

Naruto just smirked and looked towards Asuma who seemed to be finally done with the whole exercise and had all of their times and whatever the grades they got. "Okay," Asuma said and looked around the arena. "Gather up around me." They obediently did as they were asked and moved closer to Asuma. "All of you passed the test, however you won't know the grade you will have until the end of the next part. One on one spars."

At those words whole arena immediately became abuzz with excitement as they started to chat between each other and look at Asuma with a lot more interest than before. He only smiled and looked at the list he held. "Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto," he called out. "Step forward, rest of you onto the stands."

Naruto looked at Kiba and then he looked at Sasuke and threw at him his ninjato. "Keep it for me," Naruto said and then stretched a bit before walking to Asuma who seemed amused. "Any rules, Asuma-sensei?"

"Yeah, don't kill each other and don't damage each other too much," Asuma said and then stopped them before they were ready to pounce at each other. "No ninken, no weapons and no clan jutsu."

Kiba only pouted at this, but Naruto just smirked and jumped away, his eyes shining with excitement and desire to show off. He let it show and he stood completely relaxed, not even slipping into any proper stance of his style. He just stood there and waited for Kiba's attack to come. When it did happen his hand shot out and caught Kiba's foot long before it could cause any harm. "You get predictable, dog-boy," Naruto said and then used the position to send his own kick.

"As if you were better," Kiba said, freeing himself and jumping away. "You are the same person I beat last time we spared."

"And you had Akamaru," Naruto said as he ran towards Kiba and slipped below his strike before delivering a powerful strike that sent the Inuzuka flying backwards. "One on one I seem to be better."

"Tch," Kiba said, spitting blood and getting up. "I'll beat you in no time." He let out a feral howl and jumped at Naruto. Only to be stopped by Asuma who snatched him out of the air.

"That will be enough, both of you," Asuma said as he placed Kiba on the ground. "And that was an attempt at clan jutsu, a thing you shouldn't have done," he then added more grimly in Kiba's direction. "Not that it was missed," Asuma said and indicated a thick shadow growing from Shikamaru. "Now, Shika, cut the jutsu and you're next with Ino."

Naruto walked to the stands, a bit angry that the spar was cut short and as he sat down by Sasuke he took his weapon before looking at his adopted brother who seemed not even pay any attention to Ino. "This will be interesting."

"Hn," Sasuke said and then after a moment said. "He is too lazy to fight unless annoyed or provoked and she is too big of a fangirl to be a serious threat?"

Naruto just smiled and leaned back, letting the sunlight bathe him and let him enjoy the warmth of the typical Land of Fire weather. He enjoyed the peace, knowing well that when once back in the village proper he would have some annoyances called fangirls. He was aware of his good looks and he felt good when Shikaku commented that in the appearance he looked a lot like his true father. Yet at the same time it annoyed Naruto as it caused a bane called fangirls to chase him around the village.

"You're as lazy as Nara," Sasuke said, breaking the silence as the combat still didn't start with Ino and Shikamaru watching each other.

"Not lazy," Naruto said with a sigh and then looked at Sasuke. "Just enjoying the silence of no fangirls chasing me around the village."

Sasuke nodded and then the fight finally started with Shikamaru going for a simple, even crude direct attack and sending a powerful kick aimed at Ino's gut. Who managed to move out of the way, but not quite and Naruto almost winced at this. He learned that when Shikamaru was forced to fight, it was hard and painful for one he spared with and Ino seemed to be hit by one of kicks, double ouch.

"That was fast," Sasuke said and Naruto nodded.

"I expected her to last longer, but then Shika when annoyed is nasty."

"He can be nasty or annoyed?" Sasuke asked, some mock surprise in his voice. "I always thought all Naras were sloths and didn't do shit."

"We can do stuff," Shikamaru said as he approached them with a bored expression on his face. "We just treat it as a bothersome stuff that is not worth much of our attention unless we get angered."

"Or suitably motivated and irritated," Naruto added with a smirk. "Or a threat of death, all three work well enough."

Sasuke gave them a long, cold look and then shrugged. "You are weird people," he finally said. "Both of you are weird and annoying, but I like you."

Naruto just chuckled and the three of them watched the fights as they quickly progressed, some amusing, some exciting and most just plain boring and putting them to sleep. The only one that caught Naruto's attention for more than a second was one when Sasuke faced Shino, a fight that would have been interesting with ninjutsu, but proved to be just boring without. They exchanged few blows and then Sasuke sent a powerful kick and forced Shino to surrender.

Naruto closed his eyes and leaning backwards he slipped into a weird, sleep-like state when he felt Sasuke's hand swat him across his head, getting his attention. He learned to take as many naps as possible from the Naras and while he hated their idea of laziness, the idea of regenerating whenever possible was a thing he adored.

"Fights are done," Sasuke said and Naruto yawned loudly before getting up and following them to the place where Asuma was.

Asuma gave them a look and then smiled. "All of you passed," he said with a smile that quickly became serious. "However as you all know there are three groups in which you can be placed, A, B and C. Briefly, for those that don't know or remember, A is a path that is the most elite and the most demanding path that often, but not always grants you a promotion to a chunin and can be approached by ANBU, Oinin or Iryonin. B is the path most of you is expected to follow and the end result are ninja that have a good chance of progressing into the best formations, but are nothing special, oh and they always graduate as genin. Last is C, the path where land all of those that didn't qualify for A or B."

All of them nodded in understanding at the descriptions of groups, most knew about them and Naruto smiled internally as he knew that almost everybody wanted to land in A. He himself was no exception and he was pretty sure that he did well enough to either be close to jumping into A after the first round of combat practice or at the end of the year or just be placed inside of it right now.

"I will go from those that had the best results and move downwards," Asuma said and then looked at his notes. "First is Nara Shikamaru, thirty-five out of fifty points for the obstacle course due to several hits and being a bit slow, but you get twenty more points for working together with Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino. For the spar you get forty points, would have been fifty if not for your unneeded brutality," Asuma said and then pulling out of nowhere a scroll he hurled it at Shikamaru. "Congratulations," he said. "You are accepted to Path A."

Naruto smiled for his brother and patted him on the back. "You don't need to wait long before I'll be in the same path."

"Indeed, you won't need to," Asuma said and Naruto smiled. "Uzumaki Naruto. Forty for the course, ten for teamwork, thirty-five for combat, thirty for your performance and five due to the behavior of Kiba."

Naruto's smile grew even larger and he easily caught the scroll that went flying his way before unrolling and looking at its content. It more or less stated that he was hereby accepted as a cadet and was supposed to be at the Academy at ten on the next day for medical checkup and then the classes would start.

"Sasuke Uchiha, thirty-seven and a half for the course, ten for teamwork, thirty-five for combat," Asuma read and then threw at Sasuke the same kind of a scroll Naruto and Shikamaru had. "Those three are all that get A path from all of you, there are few close ones, but not quite. If you want, the three of you is free to do whatever you want."

"We'll stay," Shikamaru said and yawned. "Moving is bothersome and I want to wait with it for as long as I can."

Asuma nodded and read the rest of the names and Naruto perked up a bit at the name of Shino, who ended in B, Kiba who got zero for the spar as he broke the rules and landed in C path and looked as if he wanted to pounce at Asuma, but a single look from the jonin stopped it. Then Naruto once again became aware of Asuma reading when he mentioned Ino being placed in B with Chouji and Hinata.

"As you have on the scrolls, you are to be here tomorrow for the checkup and then the training will start," Asuma said and smiled. "I want to congratulate all of you for passing the exam and being officially recognized as ninja-in-training."

Naruto smiled and with Shikamaru, Sasuke, Ino and Chouji walked out of the Academy, happiness visible on their faces and in the way they walked. All five of them made their way to Akimichi BBQ to celebrate and eat at the expense of Choza's Chouji's dad.

Naruto leaned back against the wall and smiled as he looked at the table and his friends, as he let out a happy sigh he noticed two people walk towards the table, Itachi and of all people, Hatake Kakashi unless someone else had those silver gravity defying hairs.

"Naruto," Itachi said, getting his attention. "Can you come with us for a moment? There are things we need to tell you and it would be better done in a private setting."

Naruto looked at his friends and then at his brother who just let out a sigh and muttered. "Troublesome, golden hair and blue eyes, why I haven't seen it sooner." Before returning to munching on food.

Naruto gave his brother a look before walking out after Itachi and Kakashi, only to find two more people waiting for them, Sandaime Hokage and Nara Shikaku. "Hokage-sama, tou-san," Naruto said with a bit of respect, lightly bowing his head. "What do you want to talk with me about?"

"Your parents and the events that happened all of those years ago," Sandaime said and then added. "However we won't do it here, instead we will do it on the monument."

Naruto nodded and all of them made their way to the monument before landing on the head of Shodaime. "So the past," Naruto said looking at the shinobi gathered around him. "What are you going to tell me about it?"

"You remember what I told you three years ago when you unlocked your chakra?" Shikaku asked quietly as he looked into Naruto's eyes. "About you being a jinchuuriki and promising to explain more when you get accepted into the Academy?"

"Yes," Naruto said and then added after a moment. "I looked through whatever I could get and found not much, if any information about it."

"Because all of the information was hidden, on purpose," Sandaime Hokage said and Naruto looked at the aged leader. "I did it, mainly to protect you from any harm that could have happened to you because of it. Shikaku told you so much, or better would be so little because it is all you needed to know back then."

"So what it is?" Naruto asked, some curiosity and at the same time caution visible in his voice.

"It all started with Shodai Hokage, my sensei," Sandaime Hokage said. "When he created the villages he also tamed all nine bijuu, great and terrible creatures of chakra. Each of them more than capable of laying waste to whole villages and countries. To seal peace and try to make it last he shared them with all other villages and they were sealed in humans." Sandaime paused and Naruto could feel something really, really wrong creeping towards him. "Jinchuuriki is a human chosen to be a host of the bijuu," Sandaime quietly said and then placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder before he could do anything. "Don't think of yourself as a weapon or as a demon," he said quietly. "You're not the first one and the previous two were known and famous, first one was Uzumaki Mito, better known to you as...?"

"As a wife of the Shodaime Hokage," Naruto said as the realization dawned upon him. "One of the most powerful kunoichi of her time."

Sandaime only smiled and nodded. "Indeed, she was that and much more. Your mother was her successor and would have been a jinchuuriki for many more years if not for one fatal accident. On the day when you were born, someone, I don't know who, all I know that he was killed, for good, managed to find the place where your mother was giving birth and once you were born he sneaked inside and broke the seal. Yondaime was there as I was, Jiraiya and several of the best ANBU, but they didn't manage to stop him and he managed to release Kyubi and what was even worse, take control over him." Sandaime then paused and looked at Naruto. "As much as it hurts me to say it, Yondaime didn't have any choice, but to seal the demon inside of you and he did it for some good reason. Minato never did something without a plan and I want you to treat it as a honor. You are not some demon or beast."

Sandaime then paused and looked at Kakashi. "Did you find it?"

Kakashi nodded and pulled out a long ninjato with the scabbard covered in wave patterns and the same sign as one of the Uzumaki clan. "A sword of your ancestors, last wielded by Uzumaki Kushina, your mother," he quietly said. "There is much more I wish I could tell you, but there is a reason we keep your parents as a secret from you. They had enemies, many, powerful and extremely dangerous enemies."

"Indeed," Shikaku said as he approached Naruto and looked at him. "I knew them well and I can tell you many things, but not before you make chunin or at least turn sixteen, whichever one comes sooner." He then gently embraced him. "I know that it hurts you, but you need to understand that we care about you and want to see you survive, grow up and become a person that will make us proud and your true parents too."

Naruto smiled at this and somehow managed to nod in understanding, he was still shocked and confused, but the familiar presence and comfort managed to calm him a bit. "I understand," he said swallowing and then said more firmly. "But once you tell me about them, I want to hear everything."

"I think that it can be done," Kakashi said and then laughed. "I know a lot about them you'll want to hear, but I feel like Shikaku will make it less scary and overwhelming."

Shikaku nodded and gently releasing Naruto glanced at other ninja. "If you would allow it, I think his friends are worried and besides, as much celebrations are boring, this time I want to celebrate that both of my sons were accepted, with flying colors."

Sandaime inclined his head in agreement and Shikaku grasped Naruto before disappearing from the monument and appearing back at the BBQ. "Was faster and less troublesome than running here," he said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

Naruto groaned and looked at his adopted father. "Can you teach me how to do it?"

"Easy, easy, son," Shikaku said and Naruto glared at him. "You'll learn it within first few months of the Academy."

Naruto huffed at it and the two of them joined his friends at the table that quickly became a lot smaller when Choza, Inoichi and Asuma joined them.

o-0-o

Later that night Shikamaru sat up on his bed and looked at the form of Naruto bathed by the moonlight and then got up with a small yawn and looked out of the window and then at the Hokage monument. "He really looks like the Yondaime," Shikamaru muttered and then got back into his bed. "I'll need to talk with tou-san about it," he yawned and then draped a blanket over his body. "Preferably when Naruto is somewhere else, what a drag."

 **o-0-o**

 **Before someone starts to yell about things, brief reminder Konoha is a military dictatorship, oligarchy or monarchy, pick which one you choose, but it is it. And that means that if leader wants history changed to suit their needs they will do it, same with shinobi, ruler is a shinobi and that means that all of the village would be geared towards training, equipping and providing with whatever they need.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – So, it took me like four months to finally get around to posting it. Had it on the drive ready for ages, but was distracted and not in mood to publish. Here it is and I hope you like it. Read, enjoy and review.**

 **o-0-o**

Shikaku focused the gaze of his eyes on Kakashi, making the younger jounin freeze in place and look for a way out of the room in which they were. At this Shikaku smiled and then finally nodded. "So you think it wasn't wise that I and Hokage-sama told Naruto?"

Kakashi nodded and then paused for a second. "As much as it pains me to say it, him having the name Uzumaki should be enough to set off most alarms and have people look at him" Kakashi said and then continued. "Him having Kushina's ninjato and becoming a competent swordsman is a thing that can make all of the villages send more spies than we already deal with. I know that he craves to know something about his true parents and what we did is a better option for him, but it isn't the safer option and we all know that being careless can kill our comrades."

Shikaku nodded and sighed. "Yes, I know that," he said, tinges of bitterness in his voice. "It was me who sent people to their death during the last war when the Hokage was on the battlefield and could not command." He then stood up and walked to a window of the room before looking at the moon that slowly moved across the sky and then looked at Kakashi.

"However here what we did was a good and wise decision, he is a child, a child that we all know has the potential to surpass Minato. He might not have his pure genius, but he has a support of a clan, encouragement to train and in him there is some determination and will to work that I only see in Itachi."

"I understand," Kakashi said and then paused. "You know that Shikamaru most likely guessed that Naruto is Minato-sensei son?"

Shikaku nodded and smiled. "I'm not deaf, nor blind, not yet, Kakashi. I saw him look at Naruto and then saw him look very intently at the mountain. I'm more curious when he will come and ask me if it is true."

"He is a cautious one, isn't he?"

"As we all should be, but he is, even too cautious at times," Shikaku said and then paused to look at Kakashi. "I suspect he will look at the books with any photos of Minato and then take some time digging through the genealogy before coming to ask me."

"He would make a great ANBU or an oinin."

"He is also as lazy as the rest of the clan is," Shikaku said and then gave Kakashi a long look. "He is only motivated when he truly wants to or when he is scared of the consequences of not doing the thing he should do."

"According to Hokage-sama you were the same," Kakashi said and then laughed. "All of us, or almost all of us was such when we were young."

Shikaku nodded and then looked at Kakashi. "As much as I enjoy the chitchat, you have a mission in the morning and I have clan matters to deal with."

Kakashi nodded and took it as a signal to disappear, leaving Shikaku alone and letting him truly think about the events of the day. He was mildly surprised that Shikamaru managed to get into the best group, while he knew that his son had potential, willingness to work was something else. While Naruto was a thing that got a troubled sigh out of Shikaku, his adopted son was a shining diamond that needed polish and careful encouragement to develop and flourish. As he thought about him, Shikaku only shook his head in disgust at the original idea, to have Naruto grow up in an orphanage and have all of the adult population know about his status as a jinchuuriki.

"Who was so insane as to come up with such a plan?" Shikaku asked himself before getting up and walking to his bedroom, carefully slipping by the room where his sons slept peacefully as he knew that waking them up could be bad.

o-0-o

As the first rays of the sun bathed a room an alarm clock rang and almost immediately stopped when Naruto's hand shot out and slammed into it, silencing it and ending the noise that tried to drive him insane. Then Naruto slowly opened his eyes and sat up on his bed before stretching and yawning loudly, a quick glance sent towards the window told him it was early and that he should have been still sleeping.

The desire to sleep lasted only for few seconds before it was replaced by the excitement and thrill as today was the day when he would start his training as a shinobi. He quickly corrected himself as he was technically a shinobi-in-training and from becoming a true shinobi separated him at least two and a half of a year of training and education at the Academy, but still it was a step closer to becoming a shinobi.

Naruto then looked to the side and sighed when he saw Shikamaru still sleeping soundly. "One day he will drive me mad," Naruto said in exasperation before walking to his brother's bed and pulling him onto a cold and very, very unforgiving floor. "Wake up, Shika."

Shikamaru groaned and the next moment Naruto found himself unable even to twitch. "Next time you do it, you sleep on the roof," Shikamaru said slowly, his voice dead serious. "Even for you, dumping me onto a floor was too much."

Naruto let out a breath of relief when the shadow released him and nodded before quickly grasping his clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. He hurriedly washed and dressed himself before almost charging into the kitchen and starting to wolf down on food.

"Naruto, the world won't escape from you," Shikaku said with some amount of desperation in his voice. "Can you not behave like a tornado when excited?"

"I'm just excited to start the training," Naruto replied. "Sorry, dad."

Shikaku just laughed and Naruto looked at him. "And by the end of the day you'll crawl home and will want not to train anymore."

Naruto scoffed at those words and focused on food. "Why would I?"

"I cannot tell you," Shikaku said and then a smirk appeared on his lips. "I mean, I can, but I would spoil fun for you and everybody else."

Naruto nodded and finished his breakfast before waiting for Shikamaru and racing with him across Konoha and into the forests around the Academy. On his way there he nodded to Sasuke who joined them and Ino that somehow managed to keep up with them. The four of them gracefully landed on the ground in front of the Academy gates and then slowly walked towards a pair of guards posted outside.

"Show the scrolls you received yesterday," one of the guards said and after an arched eyebrow of question from Shikamaru he explained. "You give us scroll, we give you keys to your lockers and tags that contain all of the information about you that is vital."

They handed in the scrolls and in returned were given a key each and metal tag with all of their data printed on it. Naruto put his around the neck and the moment he did it the gate opened and they could step through and onto the proper grounds of the Academy.

The first thing that draw their attention were two massive statues that flanked the entrance, they were sculptures of two men they all needed to recognize. One to the right was covered in plate armor and had long, spiky hair, some of which was covering one of its eyes, while in second was visible a Sharingan. Second statue showed a similar man, also clad in a plate armor, but there the similarities ended with him having hair not covering his face and he didn't have a Sharingan.

"Uchiha Madara," Sasuke whispered in some respect, indicating the statue with the Sharingan. "One of the founders of Konohagakure no Sato."

"And that's Senju Hashirama, Shodaime Hokage," Shikamaru said, looking at the second statue. "One that brought peace between Uchiha and Senju clans and founded Konoha with Madara."

Naruto looked at those sculptures in awe and then smiled when he noticed the whirlpool of Uzumaki clan placed on the entrance, right behind the statues. "And the symbol of my clan," he said, his head indicating the sign. "Uzumaki clan."

"Whom they were?" someone asked and when Naruto's head flew in the direction of the voice he saw a girl with pink, shoulder-length hair.

"Cousins of Senju and leaders of their own village," Naruto said and then added with a tinge of sadness to his voice. "However all of them are gone as of now and I'm the last living one."

"What happened with them?" the girl asked with some interest.

"Third Great War," Shikamaru said as he noticed that Naruto was uncomfortable talking about it. "Iwa, Kumo and Kiri moved together against the village and destroyed it."

"And they paid a heavy price for it," Naruto added quietly. "I don't know the exact details, but from what I know a third of the forces were killed in the battle and then Konoha no Shiroi Kiba and several dozen jonin arrived and severely damaged what was running away from Uzu." Those words Naruto said with some satisfaction that even if his relatives died to the last one, they made attackers pay one hell of a bloody price.

The girl seemed shocked that three of the great villages were needed to take out one she even barely heard about. "I'm Haruno Sakura," she said after a moment. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

They nodded and mentioned their names before walking between the statues and entering through doors placed there. Inside they found themselves in a small rectangular room with a single chunin waiting for them. He nodded and greeted them before giving them one long look. "Before you are formally accepted there is one more formality," he said and all of them tensed in anticipation. "Medical checkup, boys to the right, girls to the left."

They all did as they were told and as Naruto dressed up after his he noticed Sasuke's gaze slip over the seal that was visible on his stomach. He winced at it, he hoped that he would need not to channel chakra, but he needed to do it and the seal showed up. "What that is?" Sasuke asked curiously. "I know that it is some kind of a seal, but more cannot guess."

"Something I'm not comfortable talking about," Naruto said and then sighed. "Sorry, just don't want to and cannot really talk about it." He grasped Sasuke's hand and looked into his eyes. "Ask Itachi about it, please?"

"Fine," Sasuke said, shocked a bit by Naruto's behavior. "Sorry, didn't know it was that painful for you."

"Not painful, just uncomfortable and I can't talk about it," Naruto said, zipping up his hoodie and grasping his ninjatos. "Trust me on it."

Sasuke nodded and the two of them joined the rest of their friends in a nondescript room with several benches and pillows to sit on. Naruto sat on one of them pillows and leaned against the wall. "So how much chakra do you have?"

"Slightly above the average for my clan," Sasuke said and twirled a kunai. "Which means I'm at or close to being at seventy-fifth percentile or so."

"Or in normal language being better than three quarters of our age group," Shikamaru said with a yawn and jabbed his finger at Naruto. "I know that he has an insane amount of chakra, so how much do you actually have, Naruto?"

"Close to Sandaime-sama," Naruto said with a sheepish smile.

"That, that, that is..." Ino said, trying to say something, yet unable to form anything more.

"A lot," Shikamaru said and sighed. "Huge amounts of chakra come with an obnoxious level of chakra control. Which means that a lot is wasted just to do the damn jutsu and he needs to constantly work on his chakra control."

Naruto glared at his adopted brother, but before he could say anything a chunin entered into the room and all of them immediately tensed. "Uchiha Sasuke, Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto, you come with me."

Naruto looked at his friends, but they just shrugged and got up, he followed suit and walked after them and the chunin who took them through a maze of corridors until all of them emerged on top of one of the Academy buildings. There he bowed to a tall person with a mop of black hair on their head and an Uchiha crest on the back of the shirt before disappearing.

"So the three newest path A students," the person said and turned to face them at which Naruto blinked and focused on the features of whoever it was, he seemed strangely familiar and he was sure he saw it from somewhere. "As opposed to other paths you all have time limits for all of the tasks and finishing after it means lower grades for you. Also you are supposed to be future leaders so we expect perfect performance and exemplary behavior from you three."

They bowed their heads in understanding and then Naruto blinked in surprise as he realized who it was who was speaking with them. Shunshin no Shisui, a bit changed with the armor he had and the pair of katana swords across his back, but still it was the same shinobi that he saw constantly by Itachi's side.

"Yes, I'm the same Shisui all of you know," the shinobi said, cracking a smile. "But here I'm either Shisui-sensei or Shisui-sama, both of which I'll accept."

They nodded and then stood in place waiting for the next words of Shisui who seemed to take his sweet time and enjoy one of the few moments when they were completely silent. Then there was a sudden burst of movement and a shinobi that guided them here once again appeared.

"Take them to where the rest of the new students is," Shisui said, his gaze flickering to the shinobi for a brief moment before once again focusing on Naruto. "Good luck," he then softly said and before Naruto could blink, Shisui was gone.

o-0-o

The Academy occupied a sizeable chunk of ground close to the outer walls of Konoha, its campus wrapped by a thick ring of extremely dense vegetation with only a couple of pathways marked through it. The main part of the campus was focused around a complex of buildings with the lecture halls, armories, medical areas, laboratories, training areas and many more. Some of them were only accessible to high ranking ninja or on a direct order from the Hokage.

Naruto sat at the back of the lecture hall with Sasuke and Shikamaru as they listened to a lecture about the Foundation of Konoha. He mindlessly did notes as his eyes swept over the hall, easily counting some four to five hundred shinobi inside of it. He also immediately corrected himself as they were all trying to become shinobi.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered with a yawn as the lecturer was talking about Madara and Izuna. "I know all of this and I could be sleeping if not for you."

"I try to be a good younger brother," Naruto said with a smile. "So if that means whacking you across the head, I'll be doing it however many times I'll need to."

Shikamaru glared at him, but then let out a sigh of annoyance and went back to taking notes, knowing well that Naruto could get annoying and mention to mom that someone was slacking off. Naruto smiled as he saw Shikamaru shudder and shiver from the thought and then focused on the lecturer.

"... when Shodaime Hokage founded Konoha he did with the help of two more clans, Uchiha clan led then by Madara, his childhood friend and one of the greatest shinobi of their times, and Uzumaki clan from which came his wife, Uzumaki Mito. The three clans met and exchanged the oaths that were the beginning of Konoha in place where now stands the memorial stone on the training ground three. It originally was to commemorate the creation of the village, but since then also became a monument to commemorate all of those that gave their lives to protect the village and the ideals of Shodaime Hokage."

The Shodaime gave us more than the core of the village and the forests that feed, protect and hide the village, while he gave us that and many more physical things we still see all over the village. He also passed on us something much more important, Hi no Ishi, his philosophy and the way of life of his clan, as Hokage-sama said – _'When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew.'_ – this is what makes us different from other villages and other shinobi of the world. Those words are more than you think and they gave us strength to fight on even when severely outnumbered. What they mean, I won't tell you as that is for each of you to think on and try to understand them."

The lecturer paused for a moment and Naruto used this brief pause to look over the third page of notes he was quickly filling. The lecture was long and somewhat boring, but he also knew the importance of the knowledge as Shikaku kept beating it into his skull, over and over again.

"While Shodaime Hokage and his friend and rival Uchiha Madara were the ones to found the village, it wasn't until his brother Nidaime Hokage for most of the organizations that now exist in Konoha to be formed. ANBU, Military Police, the Academy are just a few of many things he had either created or completely reorganized and shaped to better fulfill their duties and provide inhabitants of the village with what they needed..."

An hour later Naruto stretched and rubbed his neck and stretched, the lecture was finally over and they were allowed to finally get out of the hall and stretch their legs. He glanced at Sasuke and Shikamaru, the only two that so far were willing to stick with him and then glanced at the timetable they were given. "So now an hour long break for a lunch?"

"At least I'll be able to take a nap," Shikamaru said and Naruto chuckled at this. "What? I need energy to live and naps are important for me."

Naruto nodded in understanding and then looked at Sasuke who just nodded and the three of them made their way to the canteen where they were joined by Ino and Chouji who seemed upset by the fact that they weren't in the same group.

"So how was it?" Naruto asked as he wolfed down on his food.

"We had the same lecture as you had," Ino said and yawned. "I hope it ends soon, I'll sooner fall asleep than learn anything useful."

"And I'm constantly hungry," Chouji added. "And I miss you."

"You can join us," Shikamaru said and winced. "But I don't think you'll like how troublesome it is."

"Oh?" Ino asked.

"He doesn't like the additional things we need to do," Naruto explained. "So he is grumpy and thinks it is too bothersome to do and thus would like to move into other groups."

"But he won't do it," Sasuke said with a smile and Naruto nodded. "He is too scared of his dear mother."

Naruto laughed at this, throwing his head backwards and letting his hair fly madly. "He won't ever admit it," Naruto said, trying not to chuckle. "But what you said is true."

"Wasn't hard to guess," Sasuke said with a shrug. "He panics whenever you mention your mom, so it was obvious."

Naruto nodded with a smile and went back to eating, completely ignoring the looks Shikamaru was giving him and only focusing on the food in front of him. Once they finished the lunch the next thing that waited for them was a lecture about tactics and this time Naruto arched an eyebrow when he noticed that this time the group was a lot smaller. Maybe fifty people in total and the room was filled with maps, weapons and village signs hanging from its walls and making them feel a bit suppressed.

"Welcome," the lecturer said, he was a tall man with short, spiky silver hair and piercing green eyes, he was dressed like a typical ninja of Konoha, the only standing out thing was the fact that he had a plate armor instead of the flak vest and on the back of it was visible a sign of Senju clan. As he walked through the classroom, Naruto could feel calm, peace and harmony fill the whole room, making everybody relax and feel peaceful and comfortable around him. "I'm Senju Eiji and will be your teacher of tactics and strategy." He walked to the podium placed right in front of the blackboards and looked at them. "The fact that you are new students and from different groups means nothing to me, my grand uncle was one that founded Konoha and he was the one to teach first generation of Konoha shinobi." Eiji paused and looked over their faces, Naruto felt for a moment as if those unsettling eyes were able to bore into his soul and see all of his secrets. "And what he taught and what I was taught from my clan is that no matter the prodigal abilities displayed by one, all can become great shinobi, they just need diligence and a will to work. I don't care if some landed in the most elite path just because they showed off on their entrance exam. What I care is what you show here and how hard you work."

Once Eiji finished there was a brief moment of silence before he clapped his hands and looked at the class, his eyes once more slipping over their faces. "Since that is out of the way, let's move onto the proper lecture and let's check if you know the basics." He then smiled and jabbed his finger in direction of a pair of kids in Senju clothes, their hair dark brown and skin coppery, that sat in the first row. "Raiden, name me three main ninja arts."

"Ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu," the kid said.

Eiji nodded and then looked in direction of Naruto. "Sasuke, what are the five basic elements?"

"Katon, Fuuton, Raiton, Doton and Suiton," Sasuke said and Naruto looked at his friend who seemed more interested with his kunai than the lecture.

"Very good," Eiji said in praise and looked over the class. "Can anybody tell me why did I ask those two questions?"

Naruto slowly moved his hand into the air and Eiji nodded. "Because without knowing those things we won't be able to learn how to think like a true ninja or a kunoichi needs to think. How to counter their troops and techniques –"

"That is enough, Naruto-kun," Eiji said and Naruto muttered under his breath. "While I know that Shikaku-san taught you more, for everything will be time and this is just enough for now." Eiji then clasped his hands and behind him appeared a map of the world with the Hidden Villages marked on it. "Now, the main point of the lecture, what each village is good and bad at..."

o-0-o

Several hours later Naruto let out a pained sigh as he forced his body to move, whoever this Gai-sensei was they certainly knew how to make everybody sweat and cry in pain from their muscles trying to give up. He ground his teeth and did the pushup before almost slamming into the floor of the hall.

"How can you keep going?" Sasuke asked from the side where he drank water and tried to cool off. "You don't seem exhausted enough to stop, yet."

Naruto smiled at this and looked at the pair of Senju kids in front of him that also was able to keep working out. "The same reason as the two," he said and smiled before wiping sweat of his forehead. "Uzumaki and Senju are sturdier, more resilient and have some weird regenerative shit going on."

"And are balls of energy," Shikamaru added with a groan and Naruto glared at him.

"Get back to working out, I know you can keep doing it."

Shikamaru gave Naruto a very dirty look and sighed before once again starting to do push-ups and trying not to tire himself too much. "Naruto, cannot you understand that not everybody has your unholy stamina?"

"And?" Naruto asked with a smile. "Mom won't care too much about it, especially since you are always lazy and sleepy."

Shikamaru sighed and Naruto chuckled under his breath as he saw Shikamaru curse and complain at being forced to do what they were supposed to do.

Almost an hour later Naruto slowly walked out of the Academy, his steps a bit hesitant as he tried to ignore all of the various aches and pains creeping up his body. He let out a shallow breath and turned as he heard, or better would be, felt the Senju kids approach him. He looked at them and had issues telling them apart, both were almost the same, same red eyes, same brown hair and same coppery skin.

"Cousin," one of the two said warmly. "Our father has been excited when we mentioned that we will have classes with an Uzumaki."

"Cousin," Naruto inclined his head and gave them a look. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Sorry about that," one of them said and smiled a bit sheepishly. "I'm Senju Sanga," he said and indicated his twin. "And this is Senju Raiden."

Naruto nodded and smiled, tho he could swear that in a class Eiji-sensei used Raiden for a different one, but then he shrugged and looked at them. "So what do you want?"

"Just hang out and have fun," Raiden said and Naruto could feel his eyes shine with mischievous fires. "So what do you say, cousin?"

Naruto paused for a moment and then briefly looked at Shikamaru who joined them, looking for his opinion. "Go with them, I won't be mad if you leave me, Ino, Chouji and Sasuke for few hours."

Naruto smiled and approached the Senju twins before running with them towards the village and clan district inside of it to have fun and get to know each other better. As they jumped from tree to tree, their bodies healed on their own from the strain and removed all of the aches and pains they felt, and Naruto felt something at the back of his head whisper that he just made a good choice, or at least a better one.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – This one just took several months to write, you can blame that on me being a lazy asshole that needs to deal with university and other, more important assignments they need to take care of. Also, the muse took a break and I lost some of my interest in Naruto. Now I returned and hopefully you will see few more chapters in the coming weeks.**

 **o-0-o**

Shikamaru paused as he looked at the Hokage monument and then rubbed his eyes looking at the familiar sculptures, sculptures he saw every single day since the day he was born. He squinted his eyes and looked at the newest, fourth head, and then shook his head. He needed to be seeing things. The resemblance between Naruto and Minato was too striking to be true.

"What's wrong, Shika?" Ino asked as she landed to his side. "You seem to be staring at the sculpture way too much."

Shikamaru sighed and looked at her and then at Sasuke and Chouji. "Are you all blind and don't see something so stupidly obvious?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked and Shika's glare landed on him.

"One very troublesome and annoying adopted brother," Shikamaru said and then indicated the sculpture. "Doesn't it look familiar?"

"That's Yondaime Hokage, Kiiroi Senko, Namikaze Minato," Sasuke said with a sigh of exasperation. "Where are you heading with your thoughts?"

"How did he look?"

"Blond hair and blue eyes..." Ino drawled, not sure where it was heading.

"Indeed," Shikamaru said and looked in the direction of the Senju compound. "And who has the same looks, minus the whiskers?"

"Naruto..." Sasuke said, slowly inhaling. "But then, if he is supposed to be a son of a Hokage, why is he using Uzumaki name and why is he living with you?"

"Don't know it, yet," Shikamaru said and then sighed. "I don't even know if this is true, it seems probable and at the same time so insane that it is not probable." He then shook his head and jumped onto the next roof. "Forget about it and let me think about it. It is so insane that it is most likely false and we all will have better things to do than think about such things."

They nodded and Shikamaru let out a breath of relief, he had a feeling that it was true, but he was also aware that it was done for a very good reason and he noticed that Itachi, Kakashi and few more senior shinobi seemed to be very interested in Naruto. Shikamaru was intelligent enough to know that unless given a very good reason senior shinobi wouldn't pay that much attention to a kid that didn't even start the training and he was also aware that staying silent was better than talking. Especially if it was related to something as precious and revered by the village as Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

For Konoha he was a hero, Shikamaru thought and then grimaced. But for everybody else he was a monster or a mortal enemy or a person that simply was hated for killing relatives and loved ones. Grudges were a thing kept for a long, long time in the ninja world. Grudges against those that slaughtered almost a whole clan and did it with impunity lasted for generations and if the one that began it was dead. It didn't matter much for the vengeful relatives and hiring a skilled nukenin or sending a couple of squads of ANBU if they had big enough clout to force their Kage's hand.

If Naruto was indeed a son of Yondaime Hokage the assassin would be attracted to him like flies to a jar of honey. Shikamaru whistled as he almost lost his balance and slipped off the roof. This was all getting troublesome and that was without his classmates sniffing around. While most from old clans and ninja families would have the knowledge of how many daggers would be pointed at Naruto's back if his heritage was revealed. Those from civilian families were less subtle and their knowledge of the dangers lurking in the shadows was at best subpar.

o-0-o

Naruto felt his feet touch down on the roof of the building right outside of the Senju compound and then looked at Raiden and Sanga before looking at the compound in front of them. It looked more like its own miniature town inside of the village than a single compound, but then the Senju were old and prestigious and powerful clan. Not to mention that they were one of the founding clans and it was them who made up the initial bulk of the inhabitants of the village.

Even if since then the village grew in size and their size dwindled due to wars and conflicts, they still had the riches and the influence. Two things that made them attract people and lesser clans and families. Which in turn made their compound more bustling with life and activity than before.

"Looks pretty big," he said casually and smiled. "Bigger than Nara, but also less crowded and nicer."

"Thank you, cousin," Raiden said and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm surprised you weren't inside of it, yet. You seem pretty close with that Uchiha boy, yet never ventured here."

"Didn't have an opportunity to explore it," Naruto admitted with a sheepish smile as they dropped onto the ground. "Too busy elsewhere and tou-san for some reason kept me away from it."

"Well, time to catch up," Sanga said and Naruto yelped when he felt Raiton chakra jump into his body. "Oops, seems like my control slipped for a second."

Naruto gave his cousin a murderous glare, one that could make someone less courageous back away in fear.

"Sorry, cousin," Raiden said with a warm smile. "Sanga tends to have some issues with his control and it slips from time to time."

"Says one that has issues with Suiton chakra," Sanga said with a wide smile. "Wet sheets that are more common than for Tobirama and an occasional puddle or two on the floor."

The look that Raiden gave Sanga made Naruto freeze and feel as if something had woken up a demon, very pissed off and angry demon. He cleared his throat and got their attention in an attempt to diffuse the coming confrontation. "You are twins and both of you have Raiton and Suiton?" he asked.

"Yes," Raiden said with a wide smile. "And a powerful one at that."

Naruto's eyes widened for a second as his mind clicked and made a connection. "That means that you have a Kekkei Genkai, but Mokuton is Doton and Suiton, not Raiton and Suiton."

"Well, foxy, you are right...somewhat." Sanga said and Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Ever heard of Ranton?"

Naruto's eyes widened "Tou-san mentioned it a time or two," he said, closing his eyes and trying to remember something. "A thing unique to Kumo, he said, not a thing common to Senju." He turned to Sanga, eyebrow raised. "What do you mean sort of?"

Raiden grinned "Elemental affinity 101, cousin. Everyone...Every shinobi has an affinity for one of the basic five: Katon, Fuuton, Raiton, Doton and Suiton. However what is less known and only really known in clans and Jonin, is that Shinobi can develop secondary and tertiary affinities. But generally if a genin is breaking out two elements you can safely assume that they have a Kekkei Genkai."

"I see," Naruto said as he tried to wrap his mind around it. "But what about tou-san saying that Ranton was Kumo's Kekkei Genkai?"

"Well, he was mostly right," Raiden said and smirked. "But then, we never really mention what exactly our Kekkei Genkai can do, you are probably the first one to ask what's going on, but you won't learn, yet."

"We don't want to have an even bigger bullseye on our backs than we already have," Sanga said and Naruto looked at him. "Ten percent of the clan or so has Mokuton, we are one of the founders of this village, one of us is a member of the Sannin, do I need to go on?"

"No," Naruto said and smiled a bit. "I can tell why you want to hide some things."

"Indeed, cousin," Raiden said and smiled. "Time for you to see the compound."

Naruto nodded and stretched a bit to get over the unpleasant sensation before nodding to his cousins and following them into the compound. As he walked down one of the main streets of it he could truly enjoy being just a normal person, with no pressure put on him. Nobody stared at him, at least not openly and the swirl of his clan got more of a look of respect than fear.

"It feels so peaceful and so calm," he said as he slowly breathed in and out. "As if there was nothing to be afraid of and only good things were waiting for you."

Sanga smiled and Naruto looked at him. "That's the effect of the Mokuton some of us has," Sanga explained with a shrug. "While not as powerful as that of the Shodaime Hokage, it is still good enough to fill the place with joy and life."

"I noticed," Naruto said and paused. "Eiji-sensei also has Mokuton, doesn't he?"

"Yup," Raiden said with a smile. "Third or fourth cousin of us."

"But as we said, our gifts are certainly more flashy and loud," Sanga said and Naruto looked at him. "We might show you, but not here as it is dangerous and we don't want to get you electrocuted, do we?"

"No," Naruto said as he inched away from the twins.

"No need to do that," Sanga said and smiled. "We won't do it to you, unless..."

"Unless you really annoy us and we won't have any other nice option," Raiden said.

Naruto smiled in understanding and then he felt someone land behind him, he looked at the twins, but they seemed to be completely relaxed and comfortable with whoever it was. He slowly turned around and came face to face with an older male, his face covered by a net of scars, one eye gone and covered by the hitai-ate, the other a fiery red one in color, his hair a wild mane of black and white hair. If that was not enough to make Naruto feel some respect, then a katana strapped across the back and the armor covering his body or the sheer size as the person was close to two meters tall was enough.

"Uzumaki-san," the person said and then their eyes swept to Raiden and Sanga. "I see that my children weren't joking when they said that there was an Uzumaki in their class."

"Senju-san," Naruto said, bowing his head in respect, making the older ninja chuckle.

"I see that Shikaku taught you well," the ninja said and then let out a sigh of annoyance. "While I normally appreciate bowing and showing me respect, you don't need to do it inside of the compound of Senju clan. If that was not enough, we are cousins." He then smiled faintly. "Since those two small demons haven't mentioned whom I am, I am Senju Ryujin, their father and a rather close friend of your parents."

"You knew my parents?" Naruto asked, his eyes shining a bit.

Ryujin laughed and Naruto looked at him. "To be honest kid, not knowing your parents would be a far harder task," he said and Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "I know whom they were and I know also why that old monkey keeps it under wraps for as long as he can manage. Trust me and Shikaku, keeping it from you is safer and better than you babbling about it. Why? That's a history lecture on its own and I guess you are not in mood for one, so get lost and have fun."

Naruto looked at Ryujin in some amazement before Raiden and Sanga pulled him along and jumped onto one of the roofs. "He seems pretty cool," Naruto said as he freed himself from the grasp. "Laid back and friendly."

Raiden smiled and Naruto looked at him. "Well, if you are one of S-rank shinobi of your village you can afford to be laid back," Raiden said cheerfully. "I mean, four foolish nukenin hoped to get some cash and challenged him, he was returning to the village with his genin team. When ANBU got there, well, all they needed to do was to collect pieces of bodies and identify them for bounties."

"Now, that is impressive," Naruto said as they jumped from roof to roof and from branch to branch. "I saw Shikaku fight, but he is always slow and methodical, that, that needed to be flashy and cool."

"Different clans and different styles of combat," Sanga said mysteriously and Naruto could feel ozone gather in the air. "We have on average more chakra than most clans so we can go fancy and loud. You are similar, while Nara is excellent control and less chakra so he will be taking his sweet time in doing what he needs to do. Besides, their too analytical and cold to do something wasteful and stupid."

Naruto mindlessly nodded and grabbed a tree branch that appeared out of nowhere before pulling himself up and standing on it. He then looked at the forest in front of him and he could feel it being more wild and more primal than the rest of the forests around the village.

"One of the better spots to have fun and relax," Raiden said as he joined Naruto on the branch. "Usually only for us, Senju, but if you can find it, you can also use it."

"What do you mean, find it?" Naruto asked, his brows furrowed as he looked at the grove ahead. "I can see it normally."

"Interesting," Sanga said and looked at Raiden. "Should we mention it to dad?"

"Nah," Raiden said as he jumped down and disappeared in the underbrush. "It's not that important to bother about it."

Naruto smiled and jumped after Raiden into the underbrush.

o-0-o

Sarutobi Hiruzen was old by the standards of the shinobi world and at the same time was still one of the most powerful and dangerous ones. For over fifty years he ruled Konohagakure guiding it through two wars and a period of peace between them, as well as seeing it recover from the injuries caused by Kyubi.

It was a long reign, one marked by times of sorrows and happiness. One that gave historians more material than the combined reigns of the Shodaime and Nidaime. It was a period during which the village grew in size and power, acknowledged by others as one of the most powerful villages. It was also a time during which it faced terrible destruction when Kyubi was unleashed, torn out of the body of Uzumaki Kushina.

He walked across the roof of his office and looked at the village. It was entering into another period of prosperity, the money flowing into the treasury as more and more people migrated to it. The tall walls and hundreds of the shinobi, many of which trained after the last reform of the Academy saw them grow in quality and take less losses in the field, providing a sense of security and order.

Even if there were dozens of patrols scouring Hi no Kuni, many bandits still thrived, making the prospect of living away from large cities or Konoha a dangerous prospect not many were willing to undertake. He looked towards the main gate and right over it leaped another group of ANBU going outside to hunt down any criminals foolish enough to get brave.

All things considered the situation was as good as it possibly could and a moment when new Kage should take the power was soon. In four years, just in time to allow some of the most promising shinobi to grow, chunin exams would be organized and hosted by Konoha. There, in front of other Kages and hundreds of nobles as well as commoners the power would be officially transfered.

Hiruzen looked at the sky and a deep frown appeared on his face. Uchiha Itachi was far from an ideal candidate and there were two or three more shinobi more fitting, alas, the politics and the grumbling of the Uchiha clan forced his hand. Giving them the Kage title would silence most of their anger, while allowing him to have an input on who was his heir.

However before that could happen, the village needed to be prepared and the new generation needed to be trained to be ready to take the mantle of responsibility for the village. The bubbling unrest between clans and the civilians needed his attention and certain shinobi shirking away from their duties, more focused on their demons needed to be reminded of their duties.

o-0-o

Itachi stood on top of the Hokage monument and smiled when he looked to the side and saw Shisui approach him. "So what do you say about my little, annoying brother?"

"He has potential," Shisui said and then waved his hand, telling six ANBU that were close to move away. "He has a lot potential, maybe even more than you, less about brilliance, more about sheer competitiveness, stubbornness and determination. Also physically he is decent and Gai will do wonders to him."

"So who else caught your attention?"

"Those annoying Senju twins that have Ranton and the ungodly amount of chakra for their age," Shisui said and then paused. "I wonder how the hell they didn't make it into the A, either lazy or hiding a lot more than they can or something else."

"I don't care about the reason why they not ended there," Itachi said and Shisui looked at him. "I spoke with Hokage-sama and he agreed with me, they need to be moved to A, they are our greatest chance at countering Kumo if we ever cross the blades and go to war."

"Itachi, you know that this thing won't be liked and many will treat it as favoring founding clans," Shisui said, approaching his friend. "Senju will like it, but Hyuuga, civilians and few others? Those will scream bloody murder at the sheer idea. I can get them have classes with A now and have them be graded the same way, but if you don't want riots, you need to wait for the term to end in six months."

Itachi's eyes flashed for a moment and then they were the crimson of Sharingan as he regarded Shisui with a cool gaze. "Fair," he said and then paused. "That is good enough, but they need to get the advanced training A is given."

"They will have. I just cannot make it as blatantly obvious as you want it to be," Shisui patiently explained. "You should have known by now that the world of politics is never easy and that we need more subtlety and behind the scenes work than this."

Itachi nodded and both of them looked towards the sun. "Naruto, he was told about Kyubi, when will he begin the training to harness the power?"

"Not soon," Shisui said and Itachi turned to look at him. "Jiraiya-sama won't be back for at least a year and a half and without him around I don't want to risk it. Naruto is an intelligent kid with plenty of determination, but Kyubi is too powerful for me to risk it without Jiraiya or several experienced Mokuton users around."

"That's good," Itachi said and then corners of his mouth twitched. "Do you still want to use chunin exams arenas for some of the fights of the exams?"

Shisui snorted and chuckled, the idea was said in jest. "No, but I was thinking about using the biggest the Academy has and making it open for everybody that wants to watch it. Should be quite entertaining for them and for later years quite useful, better get used to the audience now, then freeze during chunin exams."

Itachi nodded and gave his friend a look. "Good, good, good," he said and then smiled. "You go back to babysitting your students, while I chase down one annoying nukenin."

"What's wrong with this one?"

"Evaded two squads of oinin, almost killed Kakashi's squad and then disappeared when three further squads moved to intercept him and finish off."

"Sounds a lot like Orochimaru," Shisui said thoughtfully. "He was known for it."

Itachi nodded in agreement and the next moment he was gone, the only sign Shisui could see was a fast moving black blur.

o-0-o

Naruto laid on the branch of a tree and smiled as rays of the evening sun slipped across his face, he looked to the side and saw Sanga and Raiden spar, exchanging kicks and punches that could kill a human that was not a shinobi.

"How is it that you are so good even if we are supposed to start learning taijutsu like tomorrow?" Naruto shouted in their direction.

Raiden caught his twin's hand and sent a powerful kick at Sanga's chest before turning to look at Naruto, flickers of amusement in his eyes. "Well, we are from clans and we received the same kind of education that you got from Shikaku, just more intense as Nara are known to be slow and tend to get sloppy."

"Ah," Naruto said as he jumped of the branch. "Want to spar with me?"

"Sure," Raiden said and smirked. "Just don't moan if you'll get beaten, badly at that."

Naruto smiled and walked closer to Raiden before slipping into the opening stance of his style, legs slightly apart, his hands a bit forward and his whole body at ease. Raiden smiled and then Naruto saw Raiden move, scent of ozone trailing him. At this Naruto's eyes widened and he barely moved his hand to stop the punch, he did it in a nick of time and he winced from the power behind the strike.

"Using Raiton chakra to get faster?" Naruto asked with a smile as he sent his own strike, aiming his kick at Raiden's crotch. "That seems like cheating."

Raiden laughed as he pirouetted out of the way of the kick and moved towards Naruto. "Shinobi don't know such a thing as cheating," he said laughing and tried a simple and primitive punch, straight in the face. "Everything is allowed, cousin."

Naruto smiled, stopped the punch with his own hand and then jumped into the air before bringing down his leg in a kick aimed at Raiden's head. "Well, thank you," he smirked as he noticed Raiden roll out of the way of the kick.

"And you forgot about me," Sanga said, appearing behind Naruto and delivering three, consecutive punches to his back. "We rarely fight alone," he added as Naruto dropped onto the ground from pain. "So cousin, unless you say you want a fight with one of us, you'll need to fight us both."

Naruto groaned as he got up from the ground and gave them a dirty look. "You didn't tell me about it."

"Because you never asked," Raiden said cheerfully. "So you are the one at fault here, not us."

Naruto huffed, but nodded and looked at the twins. "Even if you cheat you have an interesting style of taijutsu."

The twins smirked and looked between each other before Raiden turned to look at Naruto. "Oh, yes, quite interesting and we cannot still use the most destructive and dangerous form. Not enough control over our chakra."

Naruto shuddered at this and looked at them with some fear on his face. "How destructive can it get?"

"Same as our aunt, Senju Tsunade," Sanga said and then added with a wicked smile. "Senju Hashirama was said to be even more destructive than she is, so maybe we can get even better."

"Kami, have mercy," Naruto whispered, making twins laugh.

"Easy, easy," Raiden said and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "We won't use it on you and if you ask nicely enough we might show you some tricks. But not yet, while we like you and dad seems to also like you, we won't show you things that are precious to us."

"I understand," Naruto said as he hopped onto a nearby branch and laid on it, letting his body rest and heal the bruises. "Now I want to get to know you somewhat better and have fun."

"To that we can agree," Sanga said as he landed on a branch opposing Naruto's. "So what do you so far think about us?"

"You are pretty interesting, yet annoying Senju," Naruto said with a wide smile and then closed his eyes for a moment. "And shining brightly for my sensory abilities."

"If you have a lot of chakra, you do it," Sanga chuckled and arched an eyebrow. "Annoying?"

"Actually can keep up with me, physically, that is," Naruto said and then looked towards the compound. "Don't you feel, you know, a bit hungry?"

Raiden chuckled and nodded. "Yep and if we hurry we should get right for dinner."

Naruto smiled and followed the twins into the compound.

o-0-o

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone and looked at its polished, onyx black surface, his sole eye sweeping over the engraved names and stopping over four names dear to his heart – Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito. Four people that were to him like a family he never truly had and all of whom he failed to some degree.

Suddenly a stronger gust of wind rustled nearby trees and faint footsteps were heard. When he looked in their direction he saw the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen approach him, he eyed the elder leader carefully and then inclined his head in a show of respect.

"Kakashi-kun," Hiruzen said quietly and then sent a look at the stone. "You are here because of the four people where you could have done nothing?"

"H-how?" Kakashi asked.

"I have my ways of knowing important things," Hiruzen said and then smiled. "Also I know you well and I can tell when you are troubled and this needs to end, now."

"But Hokage-sama-"

Hiruzen looked into Kakashi's eye and Kakashi almost immediately remembered why many feared to face this person in combat. "I cannot allow one of the best jonin to waste themselves and drown in their issues," he said firmly and Kakashi felt no will to protest. "Go to Inoichi and ask him for help, you won't do it and you'll get pulled from any and all missions, I demote you to chunin and send you to teach at the Academy, assisting Gai."

Kakashi sent one, last look at the memorial stone and then disappeared in shunshin, quickly moving towards the compound of Yamanaka clan. He knew that the Hokage was serious and assisting Gai was far below the lowest of low he was willing to fall.

o-0-o

In was dark in the office of the Hokage when Ryujin entered it. His gaze flickered to the ANBU on guard and told them to get lost, while he walked to the window and the Hokage watching the village go to sleep.

"He is an interesting kid," Ryujin said quietly. "Not seeing his parents in him is impossibile."

Hiruzen looked at him and smiled thinly. "Yet many are blind to obvious truths," he said and smoke left his pipe. "They also can't connect pieces of data together when it doesn't fit the pattern. Also Nara, who normally would have trusted son of a Kage to Nara."

"Most people wanted him placed with Senju, Uchiha or Hyuuga," Ryujin said and shook his head. "I would love to have him live in the compound and grow up with the children of my clan. But the risks were too great."

"And the other two clans would have used him for politics," Hiruzen finished what Ryujin didn't want to say. "Danzo also wanted that. He wanted to use him as a bargain chip and get the most out of any political marriage that could secure alliance for us."

"So that's why the old warhawk fell out of grace," Ryujin said and then mused. "If you have nothing against it, once the time is right I will take him under my wing. While Jiraiya needs to have some time with him, there is still time and Jiraiya won't be the best influence on him."

"Keep it hidden from our enemies and rivals," Hiruzen said and then nodded. "You can do it."

"I still have a year or maybe less," Ryujin said and then stroked his chin. "It is a shame he needs to be sixteen and a chunin to be given his full inheritance."

Hiruzen looked at his old comrade with a gaze that was almost impossible to decipher. "Is it? Too many shinobi turned into blood-thirsty maniacs when they got access to too much power, too fast. For all my compassion, Naruto is also a weapon, and I don't want my ultimate trump card to be an unpredictable one."

Ryujin bit down on his lower lip and hummed quietly for few precious moments as his thoughts raced. What the Sandaime was saying was true and yet there was more to it. "Minato-kun managed to crack the formula for Hiraishin straight out of the Academy," Ryujin muttered and smiled. "Even before that he had almost private tutoring, you or me or other senior jonin."

"We were in the middle of a war back then."

Ryujin winced and nodded. This remark hurt him, badly. He lost way too many people he cared about during wars. Reminding him of that could end very unpleasantly for one doing it.

"Yet you know that it is true," Hiruzen continued. "He needs to be accustomed to jutsu and power that comes with them before he is even allowed to take a shot at the formula of Hiraishin. If he is like his father, he will manage to deal with it quickly, if not, we have time."

"Time?" Ryujin asked, arching a single eyebrow. "Kiri is in a state of civil war that can spill over. Iwa is plotting, as always and there is this new, Oto. Yes, our bubble of the world is quiet, nice, prosperous and secure." He let out a deep sigh. "Hiruzen, you can see the conflicts as well as I do."

o-0-o

Shikamaru laid on the roof of the Nara compound and looked at the stars and then his gaze flickered over to the monument before once again flickering to the stars. "I'm missing something," he slowly said and then his eyes narrowed. "Itachi-san and Kakashi-san were speaking with Naruto during our celebration for being accepted into the Academy and Naruto not mentioned what was the topic of their talk. Then he has that weird seal on his stomach."

Shikamaru yawned and looked towards the monument, his eyes narrowed and focused as he tried to come up with a reasonable theory. "He is most certainly the son of the Hokage, but who is the mother," he muttered. "Uzumakis last appeared here in the times of Shodaime Hokage and then disappeared, unless..."

His eyes shot wide open as he remembered one of the most important lesson he received from tou-san, never ever trust a single source of information. He slowly slipped down the roof and into his room before undressing and sitting on his bed and trying to think. "Unless the history was changed on purpose and there were Uzumaki in Konoha after the time of Shodaime. We were close allies, so there needs to be more to it. Time to dig through a library or two and see what was changed and where." He then yawned and after a quick glance at the clock he slipped under the blankets and went to sleep.

o-0-o

Morino Ibiki was many things and one of them was being one of the most skilled interrogators and torturers the Hokage had at their disposal. A thing that made him quite infamous in other villages as he was the one that usually broke the spies and made them confess their secrets. Some of them were opening up out of their goodness of their heart and of the sheer fear of him, however the rest needed more physical and direct treatment to awake their kindness.

However his today's duty was less related to convincing the agents of the foreign powers to stay out of the village, but more focused on the internal pests. He walked to the end of the tunnel and unlocked the hatch in the ceiling before jumping up and landing in a brightly lit room.

His eyes squinted and then he allowed himself a smile when he only noticed Shisui wait for him. "Why do you want to meet with me?" Ibiki asked and walked to the window. "We are on the Academy campus and we both know that the kids shouldn't know I exist."

Shisui grimaced and then joined Ibiki at the window. "Yes, normally I would have came to your hole," he said, his voice controlled and restrained. Making Ibiki watch the Uchiha jonin even more closely. "But the pests are on the campus and someone needs to remove them."

That was new for the leader of Torture and Interrogation. He never really expected many spies on the Academy campus. Majority of the students came from the families living in Konoha for at least twenty or thirty years and the rest was vetted carefully. Outside spies were a possibility, but those usually were spotted by ANBU before they got to the Academy, so he never really considered the possibility of a spy on campus very seriously. The chance was there, but it was so slim that he could spend his resources on more important tasks.

"What kinds of pests?" Ibiki finally asked.

Shisui winced and was silent for several long moments. "Someone, I don't know officially who. Managed to take a look at the data regarding our jinchuuriki," he said and then spat onto the floor. "And that someone had a brilliant idea of leaking it to the cadets."

Ibiki turned really slowly and looked at Shisui. "Do you want their head in a jar of honey or without any decorations?" he asked and Shisui frowned in confusion. "I will dig the whole thing out of the ground and then burn it to the very ground. I will be more lenient on the cadets, but the rest might be a spectacle for the masses."

"I wouldn't execute any of them, quite yet."

"No?"

"No," Shisui said and Ibiki could see a faint smile on the younger's shinobi face. "I wouldn't be surprised if many families had an interest in recovering their arrested relatives and would be willing to pay quite a lot of cash for their safe return. Even more for the cadets, especially if they turn out to be from the minor branches of the major clans."

"It can be of use for politics." Ibiki frowned and looked at the cadets training taijutsu. "How soon do you want the pests to be removed?"

"Three months?" Shisui mused and then looked at the same group of cadets. "I don't want to make it look as if spontaneously I had people arrested and the paperwork on my end will take me time to organize."

"I can work with that. Depends on how lousy they are with their security and hiding out of sight."

"From what I know, not really," Shisui said and frowned. "I can ask my sources, but would rather not."

Ibiki nodded and watched the training in silence. His mind slowly working and assembling the whole thing into a larger picture. The tensions were always there, the clans fought with each other, the civilians with clans and vice versa for years. This just could take it to the next level.

However the true question was who was behind them and why of all times now. Granted, now it was the perfect moment to fuck up jinchuuriki's chance of becoming a proficient ninja, but doing so would make a great deal of people start to ask very uncomfortable questions. That on its own was bad for almost any plot. The fact that most of those that knew about the demon sealed in Narutu's gut and cared about him, were in the inner circle of the Daimyo and the Hokage made it even worse.

There were beings that came to his mind, but none of them really had any interest in getting caught with their hands in a cookie jar. Especially now when Konoha mostly recovered and the amount of trained and more importantly rested ninja was high. Unless those that did it came from the inside, Ibiki shifted uncomfortably at this, it wouldn't be the first time when some people wanted to cause troubles.


End file.
